Amazons

I saw this today and at first, I was like, “What the what?!” I knew it wasn’t only for moms, but still, as a dad who takes care of a lot of the kiddo stuff around here, including ordering shit online, FROM AMAZON, I was a little offended. My next thought was of course, they chose the name because of “the ring” of “Amazon” with “Mom”. It just sounds better; rolls off the tongue smoother. Sure enough, I read the fine print:

“Yes. Despite the name, Amazon Mom is open to anyone who is responsible for caring for a baby or young child–“Amazon Primary Caregiver” just didn’t have the same ring to it. Kidding aside, we chose this name because we noticed moms in social communities (like our Amazon discussion boards) looking to connect and share information about products and problems with other moms. We wanted a name that would let these groups know that this program was created with their unique needs in mind.”

So, there it is. Amazon is basically saying it’s open to everyone, but we’re only focusing on this one group of people: moms that contribute to online discussion forums about baby products and THEIR “unique” needs. I also think it’s funny to consider the correlation to Amazons (i.e. appealing to a dominant woman culture).

Time for some devil’s advocate, so sit tight a minute: On the one hand…I am offended. Here is a major online retailer branding something that totally excludes me. Yes, it’s in title only, but still, it sends a message that they considered me, but in the end their marketing department didn’t respect me enough to include me (except in the fine print). How can we as a society expect more out of our dads, when we continue to marginalize them to jokes about mowing the lawn, manscaping, man-caves, and barbecuing? Imagine if marketing department focused adverts for care products for children at men too, as if to say, “Yes, we acknowledge and expect the men in our society to be stepping up on this level. We’re appealing to you men out there that care if your child has diapers.” Would it solve the lazy, clueless, self-centered dad thing? Probably not. But it couldn’t hurt, right? Given all this, hell no, I’m not signing up for Amazon Mom.

On the other hand…Dude’s aren’t thinking that much—they’re not that sensitive. Who cares what it’s called? As long as I’m saving money, fuggit, sign me up. I’m man enough TO be a member of Amazon Mom goddammit!